TED2008
Garrett Lisi: An 8-dimensional model of the universe
加勒特里斯的大统一理论
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物理学家兼冲浪运动员的加勒特 里斯展示了一个全新的富有争议的宇宙模型。这个模型可能解决了所有终极问题。这可能是大家能见到的最漂亮的关于基本粒子和力学的8维模型。
Garrett Lisi - Physicist
Physicist Garrett Lisi has proposed a new "theory of everything" -- a grand unified theory that explains all the elementary particles, as well as gravity. Full bio
Physicist Garrett Lisi has proposed a new "theory of everything" -- a grand unified theory that explains all the elementary particles, as well as gravity. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:21
Whoa, dude. Check out those killer equations. Sweet. (Laughter)
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大家来看看这些吓人的方程式 爽啊
00:30
Actually, for the next 18 minutes I'm going to do the best I can
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在接下来的18分钟里面 我会尽我所能
00:34
to describe the beauty of particle physics without equations.
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在不用方程的前提下让大家领略粒子物理的美妙
00:38
It turns out there's a lot we can learn from coral.
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人们发现能在珊瑚身上学到不少东西
00:41
Coral is a very beautiful and unusual animal.
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珊瑚是一种极其漂亮而不平常的动物
00:44
Each coral head consists of thousand of individual polyps.
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每一簇珊瑚都由成千上万的独立的珊瑚虫组成
00:48
These polyps are continually budding and branching
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这些珊瑚虫都不停地生长 分裂
00:50
into genetically identical neighbors.
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变成基因相同的邻居
00:53
If we imagine this to be a hyper-intelligent coral,
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假设这些珊瑚有超常的智商
00:55
we can single out an individual and ask him a reasonable question.
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我们就可以抓住其中一个来问他一个简单的问题
00:59
We can ask how exactly he got to be in this particular location
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你是为什么恰好出现在这个位置呢?
01:02
compared to his neighbors --
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而不是周围其他地方
01:04
if it was just chance, or destiny, or what?
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--这是偶然造成的 命运安排的 还是其他因素？
01:08
Now, after admonishing us for turning the temperature up too high,
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在通过全球变暖对我们发出警告之后
01:11
he would tell us that our question was completely stupid.
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他说，问这种问题真是愚蠢之极
01:15
These corals can be quite kind of mean, you see,
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你知道这珊瑚有时还真的不太客气
01:17
and I have surfing scars to prove that.
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我冲浪的伤痕就是证明
01:20
But this polyp would continue and tell us
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这个珊瑚虫接着说
01:21
that his neighbors were quite clearly identical copies of him.
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它的邻居就是和它一模一样的复制品
01:25
That he was in all these other locations as well,
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它和其他珊瑚合为一个整体
01:27
but experiencing them as separate individuals.
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只是表现为不同的个体而已
01:30
For a coral, branching into different copies
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对于珊瑚来说 分裂出不同个体
01:33
is the most natural thing in the world.
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是再自然不过的事情了
01:35
Unlike us, a hyper-intelligent coral would be uniquely prepared
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和我们不同 高智商珊瑚已具备
01:39
to understand quantum mechanics.
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理解量子力学的能力
01:42
The mathematics of quantum mechanics very accurately
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量子力学通过数学方法准确描述
01:44
describes how our universe works.
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宇宙的运行模式
01:46
And it tells us our reality is continually branching
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它告诉我们 现实世界和珊瑚一样
01:49
into different possibilities, just like a coral.
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也是不同可能性的分化
01:53
It's a weird thing for us humans to wrap our minds around,
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人类很难理解这一问题
01:55
since we only ever get to experience one possibility.
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因为每个人只能经历一种人生
01:58
This quantum weirdness was first described
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这种量子力学的奇特现象最早由
02:00
by Erwin Schrödinger and his cat.
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欧文 薛定谔和他的猫提出
02:02
The cat likes this version better.
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猫更青睐这个版本
02:04
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
02:08
In this setup, Schrödinger is in a box with a radioactive sample
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在此实验中 薛定谔待在含有放射物质的箱子里
02:11
that, by the laws of quantum mechanics, branches into a state
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根据量子力学原理 放射物质有两种可能情况
02:14
in which it is radiated and a state in which it is not.
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可能衰变或者不衰变
02:18
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
02:22
In the branch in which the sample radiates,
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如果粒子发生衰变，
02:23
it sets off a trigger that releases poison and Schrödinger is dead.
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会激发连锁反应 释放毒气 薛定谔就死了
02:27
But in the other branch of reality, he remains alive.
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但在另一种可能中 他会活下来
02:30
These realities are experienced separately by each individual.
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每个个体只能经历其中的一种情形
02:33
As far as either can tell, the other one doesn't exist.
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另一种可能对他来说并不存在
02:36
This seems weird to us, because each of us
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这显得非常奇怪 因为我们
02:38
only experiences an individual existence,
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只能感知自身所处的状态
02:40
and we don't get to see other branches.
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而感觉不到其他状态
02:42
It's as if each of us, like Schrödinger here, are a kind of coral
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我们和薛定谔一样，如同那些
02:45
branching into different possibilities.
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被分化成不同的状态的珊瑚
02:49
The mathematics of quantum mechanics tells us
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量子力学用数学方法告诉我们
02:51
this is how the world works at tiny scales.
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这就是微观世界的法则
02:53
It can be summed up in a single sentence:
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用一句话来概括：
02:56
Everything that can happen, does.
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一切可能发生的事情 都在发生
02:58
That's quantum mechanics.
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这就是量子力学
03:00
But this does not mean everything happens.
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但是这并不代表任何事情都会发生
03:02
The rest of physics is about describing what can happen
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物理学的其他方向则描述哪些可以发生
03:05
and what can't.
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哪些不可以
03:07
What physics tells us is that everything comes down to geometry
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物理学告诉我们 一切都可用几何学
03:10
and the interactions of elementary particles.
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和基本粒子的相互作用来解释
03:12
And things can happen only if these interactions
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只有在这些相互作用恰到平衡的时候
03:15
are perfectly balanced.
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事情才有可能发生
03:19
Now I'll go ahead and describe how we know about these particles,
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现在我将讲述我们对这些粒子的认识
03:21
what they are and how this balance works.
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它们是什么 平衡机制如何运作
03:25
In this machine, a beam of protons and anti-protons
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在此装置中，一簇质子和一簇反质子
03:28
are accelerated to near the speed of light
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被加速到接近光速的速度
03:30
and brought together in a collision, producing a burst of pure energy.
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然后迎头相撞，产生出一股巨大的纯能量
03:34
This energy is immediately converted into a spray
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这些能量迅速转化
03:36
of subatomic particles,
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以亚原子形式喷射出来
03:38
with detectors and computers used to figure out their properties.
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周围的检测仪和电脑将对他们的性质加以分析
03:41
This enormous machine -- the large Hadron Collider
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这个位于日内瓦欧核中心的巨型机器名叫
03:43
at CERN in Geneva --
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大型强子对撞机
03:45
has a circumference of 17 miles
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周长17英里，
03:46
and, when it's operating, draws five times as much power
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运转时消耗的能量相当于
03:48
as the city of Monterey.
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蒙特利尔全市用电量的5倍
03:51
We can't predict specifically what particles will be produced
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我们无法精确预测 哪些粒子
03:54
in any individual collision.
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会在每次对撞后产生
03:56
Quantum mechanics tells us all possibilities are realized.
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量子力学告诉我们一切皆有可能
03:59
But physics does tell us what particles can be produced.
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但物理学告诉我们哪些粒子有可能产生
04:03
These particles must have just as much mass and energy
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这些产生的粒子的质量和能量
04:05
as is carried in by the proton and anti-proton.
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必须和质子和反质子的守恒
04:09
Any particles more massive than this energy limit
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任何质量超过了这一限制的粒子
04:11
aren't produced, and remain invisible to us.
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都不会出现，因此我们不会看到。
04:15
This is why this new particle accelerator is so exciting.
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这个新型粒子加速器令人无比兴奋的原因就在于
04:18
It's going to push this energy limit seven times
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它达到的能量极限
04:20
beyond what's ever been done before,
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是以前的7倍多
04:22
so we're going to get to see some new particles very soon.
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所以我们很快会看到新的粒子
04:26
But before talking about what we might see,
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在讨论未知粒子之前
04:27
let me describe the particles we already know of.
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我先介绍下那些已知的粒子。
04:31
There's a whole zoo of subatomic particles.
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亚原子多得都可以组建动物园了
04:33
Most of us are familiar with electrons.
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大部分人都知道电子
04:35
A lot of people in this room make a good living
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在座的各位的工作有不少
04:36
pushing them around.
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和它密切相关
04:37
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
04:40
But the electron also has a neutral partner called the neutrino,
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电子有个不带电的伙伴叫做中微子，
04:42
with no electric charge and a very tiny mass.
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不带电，质量极小。
04:46
In contrast, the up-and-down quarks have very large masses,
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与此相反，上夸克和下夸克质量很大
04:49
and combine in threes to make the protons and neutrons
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把三者合在一起就得到
04:51
inside atoms.
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原子里的质子和中子。
04:53
All of these matter particles come in left- and right-handed varieties,
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这些粒子分为两类 左旋和右旋
04:55
and have anti-particle partners that carry opposite charges.
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而且它们都有携带相反电荷的反粒子
05:01
These familiar particles also have less familiar
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这些熟悉的粒子还有我们不太熟悉的
05:02
second and third generations, which have the same charges as the first
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第二代和第三代 电量和第一代相同
05:06
but have much higher masses.
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但质量大很多
05:10
These matter particles all interact with the various force particles.
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粒子通过基本力相互作用
05:13
The electromagnetic force interacts with electrically charged matter
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电磁力通过光子和带电物质
05:16
via particles called photons.
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相互作用
05:18
There is also a very weak force called, rather unimaginatively,
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还有一种十分微弱的力很直接的叫做弱力
05:21
the weak force, that interacts
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这个力只和
05:24
only with left-handed matter.
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左旋的物质相作用
05:27
The strong force acts between quarks which carry
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夸克以色荷为载体
05:29
a different kind of charge, called color charge,
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通过强力相互作用
05:31
and come in three different varieties: red, green and blue.
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色荷分三种 红 绿 蓝
05:34
You can blame Murray Gell-Mann for these names --
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这都是默里 盖尔曼的错
05:36
they're his fault.
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名字是他起的
05:38
Finally, there's the force of gravity, which interacts with matter
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最后就是重力 通过质量和旋转
05:41
via its mass and spin.
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作用于物体
05:44
The most important thing to understand here
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最重要的是
05:46
is that there's a different kind of charge associated
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每一种力都对应有
05:48
with each of these forces.
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不同的载荷
05:50
These four different forces interact with matter
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四种力通过各自粒子所携带的载荷
05:52
according to the corresponding charges that each particle has.
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和物质发生作用
05:57
A particle that hasn't been seen yet, but we're pretty sure exists,
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有一种我们没见过但确信存在的粒子
05:59
is the Higgs particle, which gives masses to all these other particles.
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称为希格斯粒子 它使所有粒子有了质量
06:04
The main purpose of the Large Hadron Collider
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大型强子对撞机的主要目的
06:05
is to see this Higgs particle, and we're almost certain it will.
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是发现希格斯粒子 我们确信可以做到
06:09
But the greatest mystery is what else we might see.
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但最大的奥秘在于我们还能看到什么
06:13
And I'm going to show you one beautiful possibility
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我会在演讲最后向你们展示
06:15
towards the end of this talk.
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美好的蓝图
06:19
Now, if we count up all these different particles
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现在 如果我们用不同的自旋和载荷
06:20
using their various spins and charges, there are 226.
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计算所有可能的粒子 共有226种
06:25
That's a lot of particles to keep track of.
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数目大得惊人
06:27
And it seems strange that nature would have
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大自然拥有这么多的基本粒子
06:29
so many elementary particles.
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是多么奇妙啊
06:32
But if we plot them out according to their charges,
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但如果我们按他们各自的载荷把他们画出来
06:34
some beautiful patterns emerge.
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会出现一些美丽的图案
06:38
The most familiar charge is electric charge.
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我们最熟悉的载荷是电荷。
06:41
Electrons have an electric charge, a negative one,
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电子拥有一个负电荷。
06:43
and quarks have electric charges in thirds.
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而夸克拥有1/3的电荷。
06:45
So when two up quarks and a down quark are combined
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由2个上夸克和1个下夸克
06:47
to make a proton, it has a total electric charge of plus one.
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生成的质子有一个正电荷
06:51
These particles also have anti-particles, which have opposite charges.
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粒子还有极性相反的反粒子。
06:55
Now, it turns out the electric charge is actually
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我们发现电荷实际上
06:56
a combination of two other charges:
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是另两种载荷的结合
06:59
hypercharge and weak charge.
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超荷和弱荷
07:02
If we spread out the hypercharge and weak charge
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如果我们把超荷和弱荷分开
07:03
and plot the charges of particles in this two-dimensional charge space,
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在这个二维载荷空间上画出粒子的载荷
07:08
the electric charge is where these particles sit
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电荷就在这些粒子的
07:10
along the vertical direction.
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垂直方向上
07:13
The electromagnetic and weak forces interact with matter
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电磁力和弱力通过超荷和弱荷
07:15
according to their hypercharge and weak charge,
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与物质相互作用
07:17
which make this pattern.
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从而形成这一图案
07:19
This is called the Unified Electroweak Model,
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我们称之为电弱统一模型
07:20
and it was put together back in 1967.
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于1967年提出
07:24
The reason most of us are only familiar with electric charge
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因为希格斯粒子的缘故 我们只对电荷有了解
07:26
and not both of these is because of the Higgs particle.
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却不知道超荷和弱荷
07:30
The Higgs, over here on the left, has a large mass
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左边的希格斯粒子质量很大
07:33
and breaks the symmetry of this electroweak pattern.
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打破了电弱图案的对称性
07:36
It makes the weak force very weak
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通过给弱子较大的质量
07:37
by giving the weak particles a large mass.
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使弱力更加弱
07:39
Since this massive Higgs sits along the horizontal direction
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由于大量的希格斯粒子在水平方向分布
07:42
in this diagram, the photons of electromagnetism remain massless
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产生电磁力的光子仍然没有质量
07:46
and interact with electric charge along the vertical direction
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而且在载荷空间中和电荷
07:48
in this charge space.
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相互作用
07:52
So the electromagnetic and weak forces are described
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所以电磁力和弱力在这个二维空间中
07:54
by this pattern of particle charges in two-dimensional space.
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通过粒子载荷的图案表示出来
07:58
We can include the strong force by spreading out
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我们可以把强力沿两个载荷的方向表示出来
08:00
its two charge directions and plotting the charges
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然后将载荷用夸克形式
08:03
of the force particles in quarks along these directions.
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沿这两个方向画出来
08:07
The charges of all known particles can be plotted
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所有已知粒子的载荷可以
08:09
in a four-dimensional charge space, and projected down
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在四维空间中画出来 然后投影到
08:12
to two dimensions like this so we can see them.
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二维空间 以便我们能观察到
08:15
Whenever particles interact, nature keeps things in a perfect balance
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无论粒子如何作用 自然会在这四个载荷方向上
08:18
along all four of these charge directions.
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保持完美的平衡
08:21
If a particle and an anti-particle collide, it creates a burst of energy
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一个粒子如果和它的反粒子相撞 会产生能量
08:24
and a total charge of zero in all four charge directions.
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四个电荷方向的载荷叠加变为零
08:28
At this point, anything can be created as long as it has
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这样 只要保持能量相同和载荷总量为零
08:31
the same energy and maintains a total charge of zero.
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可以产生任何物质
08:34
For example, this weak force particle and its anti-particle
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比如说 这个弱子和它的反粒子
08:37
can be created in a collision.
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可以在碰撞中产生
08:39
In further interactions, the charges must always balance.
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在之后的相互作用中 载荷必须保持平衡
08:42
One of the weak particles could decay into an electron
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一个弱子可以衰退成一个电子
08:45
and an anti-neutrino,
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和一个反中微子
08:47
and these three still add to zero total charge.
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而这三个的总载荷仍然是零
08:50
Nature always keeps a perfect balance.
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大自然总是会保持完美的平衡
08:53
So these patterns of charges are not just pretty.
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所以这些电荷的图案不仅漂亮
08:55
They tell us what interactions are allowed to happen.
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还告诉我们 什么样的相互作用是符合规则的
08:58
And we can rotate this charge space in four dimensions
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如果在四维空间中旋转载荷空间
09:01
to get a better look at the strong interaction,
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可以从更好的角度观察强相互作用
09:03
which has this nice hexagonal symmetry.
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也就是这个美丽的对称六角形结构
09:06
In a strong interaction, a strong force particle, such as this one,
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在强相互作用中 强子 比如说这个
09:10
interacts with a colored quark, such as this green one,
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会和色夸克相互作用 比如这个绿夸克
09:13
to give a quark with a different color charge -- this red one.
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这样的作用会让夸克带上不同的色荷 比如这个红夸克
09:18
And strong interactions are happening millions of times
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强相互作用每秒钟会在我们身体的
09:20
each second in every atom of our bodies,
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每个原子里发生上百万次
09:23
holding the atomic nuclei together.
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使原子核保持一体
09:27
But these four charges corresponding to three forces
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但是和三种力相对应的这四种载荷
09:30
are not the end of the story.
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还不是终点
09:32
We can also include two more charges
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我们还可以根据重力
09:33
corresponding to the gravitational force.
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导入两个载荷
09:35
When we include these, each matter particle
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导入后 每个粒子会有
09:38
has two different spin charges, spin-up and spin-down.
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自旋向上和自旋向下两种自旋载荷
09:42
So they all split, and give a nice pattern
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若把它们全部分开 会在六维载荷空间中
09:44
in six-dimensional charge space.
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形成漂亮的图案
09:46
We can rotate this pattern in six dimensions,
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在六维空间中将这个图案进行旋转
09:48
and see that it's quite pretty.
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我们会发现它十分漂亮
09:53
Right now, this pattern matches our best current knowledge
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这个图案把我们已知的
09:57
of how nature is built at the tiny scales
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自然界在微观世界中的粒子组成
09:59
of these elementary particles.
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完全呈现出来了
10:01
This is what we know for certain.
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这是我们能确定的
10:03
Some of these particles are at the very limit
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其中的一些粒子
10:04
of what we've been able to reach with experiments.
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在实验中很难看到
10:07
From this pattern, we already know the particle physics
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从这个图案中 我们了解了微观世界的粒子组成
10:10
of these tiny scales. The way the universe works
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宇宙在这种微观世界中的运行模式
10:13
with these tiny scales is very beautiful.
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是异常美丽的
10:17
But now I'm going to discuss some new and old ideas
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接下去 我想讲一下关于未知领域的
10:19
about things we don't know yet.
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一些新老观念
10:22
We want to expand this pattern using mathematics alone,
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我们把这个图案用数学方法进一步扩展
10:24
and see if we can get our hands on the whole enchilada.
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看看能不能俯瞰全貌
10:27
We want to find all the particles and forces
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我们希望找到构成宇宙的
10:29
that make a complete picture of our universe.
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所有种类的粒子和力
10:32
And we want to use this picture to predict new particles
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然后在获得更高能量进行实验之前
10:34
that we'll see when experiments reach higher energies.
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用这幅图案预测新的粒子
10:39
So there's an old idea in particle physics
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量子物理学的旧观念认为
10:41
that this known pattern of charges, which is not very symmetric,
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这个不对称的载荷图案
10:45
could emerge from a more perfect pattern that gets broken --
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源于一个更完美的图案
10:49
similar to how the Higgs particle breaks the electroweak pattern
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跟希格斯粒子使电弱图案分裂
10:51
to give electromagnetism.
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产生电磁力是一个道理
10:53
In order to do this, we need to introduce new forces
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因此 我们要导入含有新的载荷方向的
10:56
with new charge directions.
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新的力
11:00
When we introduce a new direction, we get to guess
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在导入新方向的时候 我们要猜测
11:02
what charges the particles have along this direction,
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在这个方向上粒子带有什么样的载荷
11:05
and then we can rotate it in with the others.
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然后我们就能让它和其他粒子一起旋转
11:08
If we guess wisely, we can construct the standard charges
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如果猜对的话 我们就可以在六维载荷空间中
11:11
in six charge dimensions as a broken symmetry
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构造标准载荷集 作为更完美的
11:14
of this more perfect pattern in seven charge dimensions.
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七维载荷空间图案的非对称子集
11:18
This particular choice corresponds to a grand unified theory
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这种粒子选择方法由帕蒂和萨拉姆在1973年提出
11:21
introduced by Pati and Salam in 1973.
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它是大统一理论的一种探索
11:24
When we look at this new unified pattern,
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在我们看到这个新的合成图案时
11:27
we can see a couple of gaps where particles seem to be missing.
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发现有些空间应该有粒子 却空出来了
11:31
This is the way theories of unification work.
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这是统一理论的研究方式
11:34
A physicist looks for larger, more symmetric patterns
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物理学家将已有的结构作为子集
11:36
that include the established pattern as a subset.
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探索更大 更对称的结构
11:40
The larger pattern allows us to predict the existence
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这个更大的结构可以让我们预测那些
11:42
of particles that have never been seen.
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实际存在 却没有被观察到的粒子
11:45
This unification model predicts the existence of these two
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这个统一模型推测出了这两种新子
11:48
new force particles, which should act a lot like the weak force,
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对应的粒子 它们应该和弱力很相似
11:52
only weaker.
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但是效果更弱
11:54
Now we can rotate this set of charges in seven dimensions
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现在可以在七维空间中旋转这个载荷集
11:56
and consider an odd fact about the matter particles:
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同时考虑一下关于粒子的奇怪现象:
11:59
the second and third generations of matter
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在六维载荷空间中
12:02
have exactly the same charges in six-dimensional charge space
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物质的第二代和第三代 拥有和第一代物质
12:05
as the first generation.
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相同的载荷
12:08
These particles are not uniquely identified by their six charges.
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这些粒子通过对应的六个载荷无法一一识别
12:12
They sit on top of one another in the standard charge space.
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在标准载荷空间上 他们会彼此叠加
12:16
However, if we work in eight-dimensional charge space,
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然而 在八维载荷空间中
12:19
then we can assign unique new charges to each particle.
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我们可以赋予每一个粒子唯一的新载荷
12:23
Then we can spin these in eight dimensions,
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然后在八维空间中旋转
12:26
and see what the whole pattern looks like.
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看看整体的图案是什么样的
12:30
Here we can see the second and third generations of matter now
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这里 我们可以看到物质的第二代和第三代
12:32
related to the first generation by a symmetry called "triality."
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通过一种叫“三重性”对称和第一代相关联
12:38
This particular pattern of charges in eight dimensions is actually
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在八维中的这个特殊的载荷图案是
12:41
part of the most beautiful geometric structure in mathematics.
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数学中最为漂亮的几何结构之一
12:46
It's a pattern of the largest exceptional Lie group, E8.
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这是最大的例外型李群E8的图案
12:50
This Lie group is a smooth, curved shape with 248 dimensions.
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李群是光滑曲线形的248维空间
12:54
Each point in this pattern corresponds to a symmetry
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图案的每一点都能这个极其复杂而又美丽的
12:57
of this very complex and beautiful shape.
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图案中找到对称点
13:00
One small part of this E8 shape can be used
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E8中的一小部分可以用来描述
13:02
to describe the curved space-time of Einstein's general relativity,
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爱因斯坦广义相对论中用来解释重力的
13:05
explaining gravity.
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扭曲时空
13:07
Together with quantum mechanics, the geometry of this shape
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这个几何形状和量子力学一起
13:10
could describe everything about how the universe works
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能够以最小的尺度
13:12
at the tiniest scales.
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描述万物之理
13:14
The pattern of this shape living in eight-dimensional charge space
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而在八维载荷空间中的这个图案
13:17
is exquisitely beautiful,
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显得异常美丽
13:21
and it summarizes thousands of possible interactions
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它还囊括了上千种这些基本粒子之间
13:23
between these elementary particles, each of which
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可能的相互作用 每一种作用
13:25
is just a facet of this complicated shape.
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只是这个复杂形状的一个平面
13:30
As we spin it, we can see many of the other intricate patterns
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转动它时 可以看到包含其中的很多
13:32
contained in this one.
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错综复杂的图案
13:36
And with a particular rotation, we can look down through this pattern
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通过某种旋转 我们可以在八维空间
13:38
in eight dimensions along a symmetry axis
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沿一个对称轴方向观察这个图案
13:41
and see all the particles at once.
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并且一次看尽所有粒子
13:44
It's a very beautiful object, and as with any unification,
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这是个很美的结构 和其他统一理论一样
13:47
we can see some holes where new particles are required
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我们可以看到在这个图案中有一些空格需要
13:49
by this pattern.
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新的粒子来填补
13:52
There are 20 gaps where new particles should be,
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在这有20个空格需要新粒子来填补
13:55
two of which have been filled by the Pati-Salam particles.
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其中两个已有帕蒂和萨拉姆粒子填补
13:58
From their location in this pattern, we know that these new particles
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从图案的位置我们知道这些新粒子和
14:00
should be scalar fields like the Higgs particle,
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希格斯粒子一样存在于标量场中
14:03
but have color charge and interact with the strong force.
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但是它们拥有色荷 且和强力相互作用
14:06
Filling in these new particles completes this pattern,
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填入这些新粒子使图案完整
14:08
giving us the full E8.
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让我们得到完整的E8
14:10
This E8 pattern has very deep mathematical roots.
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这个E8图案有着深厚的数学根基
14:13
It's considered by many to be the most beautiful structure
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在数学界中它被很多人认为是
14:16
in mathematics.
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最美丽的结构
14:17
It's a fantastic prospect that this object of great
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有人预言 这个拥有无比数学美的结构
14:20
mathematical beauty could describe the truth of particle interactions
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能够以我们可以想象到的最小尺寸
14:23
at the smallest scales imaginable.
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描述粒子相互作用的真相
14:25
And this idea that nature is described by mathematics
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而这个数学描述自然的理论
14:30
is not at all new.
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并不是刚刚出来的
14:32
In 1623, Galileo wrote this:
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1623年 伽利略写道:
14:36
"Nature's grand book, which stands continually open to our gaze,
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“大自然这本一直展示在我们面前的书
14:39
is written in the language of mathematics.
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是用数学的语言写的
14:42
Its characters are triangles, circles and other geometrical figures,
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它由三角形 圆形和其他几何形状组成
14:45
without which it is humanly impossible to understand
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没有了这些东西 在人力所及的范围里我们
14:47
a single word of it;
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根本不能了解
14:49
without these, one is wandering around in a dark labyrinth."
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没有了这些 我们会迷失在黑暗的迷宫中”
14:54
I believe this to be true, and I've tried
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我相信这是真的
14:56
to follow Galileo's guidance in describing the mathematics
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我曾试过按照伽利略的指导只用三角形
14:58
of particle physics using only triangles, circles
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圆形和其他的几何形状去描述
15:01
and other geometrical figures.
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量子物理的数学性
15:03
Of course, when other physicists and I actually work on this stuff,
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当我和其他物理学家在研究这些东西时
15:06
the mathematics can resemble a dark labyrinth.
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数学就像一个黑暗的迷宫
15:11
But it's reassuring that at the heart of this mathematics
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但是我们确信 数学的核心是
15:14
is pure, beautiful geometry.
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纯粹美丽的几何学
15:18
Joined with quantum mechanics, this mathematics
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数学和量子力学一起
15:20
describes our universe as a growing E8 coral,
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把我们的宇宙描述为一个在成长的E8珊瑚
15:22
with particles interacting at every location in all possible ways
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同时粒子在每个可能的位置相互作用
15:26
according to a beautiful pattern.
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展现出美丽的图案
15:30
And as more of the pattern comes into view using new machines
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借助大型强子对撞机之类的新型机器
15:32
like the Large Hadron Collider, we may be able to see
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图案得到进一步丰富 我们可能看到
15:35
whether nature uses this E8 pattern or a different one.
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到底E8图案还是另一种图案反映了自然的本质
15:40
This process of discovery is a wonderful adventure to be involved in.
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这个探索过程是一个奇妙的探险
15:44
If the LHC finds particles that fit this E8 pattern,
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如果对撞机发现了符合E8图案的粒子
15:47
that will be very, very cool.
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那可太酷了
15:50
If the LHC finds new particles, but they don't fit this pattern --
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如果对撞机发现了新粒子 但不符合这个图案
15:53
well, that will be very interesting, but bad for this E8 theory.
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那会非常有趣 虽然对E8理论不利
15:58
And, of course, bad for me personally.
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而且 在一定程度上 对我不利
16:00
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
16:03
Now how bad would that be?
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那到底有多不利呢？
16:04
Well, pretty bad.
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恩 那是十分的不利啊
16:06
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
16:10
But predicting how nature works is a very risky game.
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但推测大自然的运作总是很冒险的
16:13
This theory and others like it are long shots.
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这个理论和其他这类型的理论都是在下大注
16:17
One does a lot of hard work knowing that most of these ideas
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即使花很多精力取得很多成果
16:20
probably won't end up being true about nature.
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也不一定能得出自然的真理
16:22
That's what doing theoretical physics is like:
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理论物理就是这样
16:24
there are a lot of wipeouts.
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失败是很常见的
16:26
In this regard, new physics theories are a lot like start-up companies.
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这样看来 新物理理论就像新开的公司
16:32
As with any large investment, it can be emotionally difficult
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巨大投资后 对那些失败的尝试
16:34
to abandon a line of research when it isn't working out.
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情感上总会难以割舍
16:37
But in science, if something isn't working, you have to
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但在科学界 如果没有用
16:39
toss it out and try something else.
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就要丢掉它 再试试别的
16:42
Now, the only way to maintain sanity and achieve happiness
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而在这些不确定中
16:45
in the midst of this uncertainty is to keep balance
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唯一能够保持理智并获得幸福的方法是
16:47
and perspective in life.
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在生活中保持平衡和明察事理
16:51
I've tried the best I can to live a balanced life.
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我已经尽可能保持生活的平衡了
16:53
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
16:56
I try to balance my life equally between physics, love and surfing --
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我试着在物理 爱情和冲浪中寻找平衡
16:59
my own three charge directions.
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就是我三个载荷的方向
17:01
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
17:03
This way, even if the physics I work on comes to nothing,
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这样 就算我的物理研究没有任何成果
17:05
I still know I've lived a good life.
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我依然拥有美好的生活
17:08
And I try to live in beautiful places.
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我试着在风景优美的地方居住
17:10
For most of the past ten years I've lived on the island of Maui,
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过去十年 我大部分时间都住在毛伊岛
17:13
a very beautiful place.
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一个超级漂亮的地方
17:15
Now it's one of the greatest mysteries in the universe to my parents
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现在 我父母最大的谜团是
17:18
how I managed to survive all that time without engaging
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我是怎样在没有一个全职工作的情况下
17:21
in anything resembling full-time employment.
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活下来的
17:23
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
17:27
I'm going to let you in on that secret.
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我要告诉你们这个秘密
17:31
This was a view from my home office on Maui.
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这是我在毛伊岛上的家庭办公室的照片
17:35
And this is another, and another.
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这些也是
17:39
And you may have noticed that these beautiful views
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你们可能注意到这些照片
17:41
are similar, but in slightly different places.
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似曾相似 但背景稍有不同
17:45
That's because this used to be my home and office on Maui.
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因为这曾经是我在毛伊岛的家和办公室
17:48
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
17:50
I've chosen a very unusual life.
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我选择了一种不同寻常的生活
17:53
But not worrying about rent allowed me to spend my time
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不担心房租 让我把时间花在
17:55
doing what I love.
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喜欢做的事情上
17:57
Living a nomadic existence has been hard at times,
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流浪的生活方式有时会很艰难
17:59
but it's allowed me to live in beautiful places
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也正因此 我才能可生活在美丽的地方
18:01
and keep a balance in my life that I've been happy with.
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维持我所喜欢的平衡的生活
18:05
It allows me to spend a lot of my time hanging out
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我可以花大量的时间在
18:07
with hyper-intelligent coral.
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超级聪明的珊瑚上
18:11
But I also greatly enjoy the company of hyper-intelligent people.
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同时我也很乐意和超级聪明的人打交道
18:14
So I'm very happy to have been invited here to TED.
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很高兴能被邀请到这儿演讲
18:17
Thank you very much.
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谢谢大家
18:18
(Applause)
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（掌声）
18:31
Chris Anderson: I probably understood two percent of that,
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我想我只懂了百分之二的部分，
18:32
but I still absolutely loved it. So I'm going to sound dumb.
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但是我绝对喜欢它。所以我想献一下丑。
18:38
Your theory of everything --
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你的万物理论...
18:41
Garrett Lisi: I'm used to coral.
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我喜欢称之为珊瑚理论
18:42
CA: That's right. The reason it's got a few people
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好吧，它让人们兴奋的原因是
18:44
at least excited is because, if you're right, it brings
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如果你是对的，那就把
18:47
gravity and quantum theory together.
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重力和量子理论结合了起来。
18:50
So are you saying that we should think of the universe,
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所以你是不是说我们应该了解
18:53
at its heart -- that the smallest things that there are,
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在宇宙中那些最微小的事物
18:56
are somehow an E8 object of possibility?
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有可能就是E8模型？
19:03
I mean, is there a scale to it, at the smallest scale,
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我是说，你心里是不是有一个最小的尺寸，
19:05
or ...?
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还是....？
19:06
GL: Well, right now the pattern I showed you that corresponds
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嗯，刚刚给你们看得图案
19:09
to what we know about elementary particle physics --
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就是我们所知的基本粒子物理，
19:13
that already corresponds to a very beautiful shape.
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而且它已经是一个很漂亮的图案了。
19:16
And that's the one that I said we knew for certain.
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那个就是我所说的我们很确信的地方。
19:18
And that shape has remarkable similarities -- and the way it fits
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而这个形状和E8有着明显的相似处，
19:22
into this E8 pattern could be the rest of the picture.
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在剩下的图片中几乎和E8合为一体。
19:26
And these patterns of points that I've shown for you
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我给你们看得这些点状图案
19:29
actually represent symmetries of this high-dimensional object
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实际上代表着高维物体的对称性，
19:33
that would be warping and moving and dancing
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这些图案在我们生活的时空中，
19:36
over the space time that we experience.
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蜷曲，移动和舞蹈。
19:39
And that would be what explains all these
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这就解释了所有的
19:41
elementary particles that we see.
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我们所看见的基本粒子。
19:42
CA: But a string theorist,
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克里斯：但是就我的理解，
19:45
as I understand it, explains electrons in terms of much smaller
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弦理论家会在更小的弦震动里
19:47
strings vibrating --
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解释电子--
19:48
I know you don't like string theory -- vibrating inside it.
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我知道你不喜欢弦理论。
19:51
How should we think of an electron in relation to E8?
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但我们该怎样理解在E8模型中的电子？
19:57
GL: No, it would be one of the symmetries of this E8 shape.
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加勒特：不，它将会是这个E8型状对称性的一部分。
20:01
So what's happening is, as the shape is moving over space-time,
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所以实际上，当这个形状在时空中游走，
20:05
it's twisting. And the direction it's twisting as it moves
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它会扭曲。而它扭曲的方向就是
20:09
is what particle we see. So it would be --
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我们所看到的粒子。所以就是--
20:11
CA: The size of the E8 shape,
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E8形状的大小，
20:13
how does that relate to the electron?
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是怎么样和电子相联系的呢？
20:14
I kind of feel like I need that for my picture.
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我自己有些想象不出来。
20:16
Is it bigger? Is it smaller?
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它会大些还是小些？
20:17
GL: Well, as far as we know electrons are point particles,
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嗯，就我们所知电子是点粒子，
20:20
so this would be going down to the smallest possible scales.
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所以这个会让我们看到最小的尺寸。
20:24
So the way these things are explained in quantum field theory
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所以在量子场论中，这些东西的解释方式是
20:26
is, all possibilities are expanding and developing at once.
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所有的可能性都在同时展开发展。
20:30
And this is why I use the analogy to coral.
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这也是我为什么拿珊瑚作类比。
20:33
And in this way, the way that E8 comes in is
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因为这样，E8的进入方式是
20:40
it will be as a shape that's attached at each point in space-time.
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一个可以连接时空中每一点的形状。
20:45
And, as I said, the way the shape twists --
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还有，想我所说的，形状在经过这个曲线的表面时
20:49
the directional along which way the shape is twisting
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它的扭曲的方式
20:51
as it moves over this curved surface --
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和其的扭曲方向是
20:52
is what the elementary particles are, themselves.
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基本粒子它们自己。
20:56
So through quantum field theory, they manifest themselves
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所以根据量子场论，它们自己把放大到
21:00
as points and interact that way.
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和点一样，然后相互作用。
21:02
I don't know if I'll be able to make this any clearer.
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我不知道我能不能解释得更加清楚了。
21:04
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
21:08
CA: It doesn't really matter.
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克里斯：没关系。
21:09
It's evoking a kind of sense of wonder, and I certainly
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它已经激起了我们的兴趣。
21:13
want to understand more of this.
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我确定我想了解的更多。
21:16
But thank you so much for coming. That was absolutely fascinating.
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太感谢你的光临了。你的演说太吸引人了。
21:18
(Applause)
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（掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Garrett Lisi - PhysicistPhysicist Garrett Lisi has proposed a new "theory of everything" -- a grand unified theory that explains all the elementary particles, as well as gravity.
Why you should listen
Working from principles of differential geometry, physicist Garrett Lisi is developing a new unified theory that purports to explain all the elementary particles, and gravity, in one elegant model. His theory is based on a mathematical shape called E8. With 248 symmetries, E8 is large, complex and beautiful -- and Lisi believes the relationships of its symmetries correspond to known particles and forces, including gravity.
His work, explained in his paper "An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything," and in an ongoing discussion on FQXi, is still on science's speculative fringe. But some physicists believe he could be pointing the way toward a truly unified theory.
Garrett Lisi | Speaker | TED.com